Learning Lattes and Literacy

Early learning, science of reading, and teacher seller tips!

Five Little Pumpkins Poem: Freebie and Ideas for Activities

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5 little pumpkins book poem and activities

There are so many activities you can do with this Five Little Pumpkins poem! From literacy to math, I’ve got you covered with 10 ideas for how to use this FREE poem with your students or kids at home.

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October is near and it rings in one of my favorite times of the year! I love all things holiday themed and learning resources are no exception. Something about teaching and learning with pumpkins and candy just makes things more enjoyable, ya know?

I’ve been working on a ton of October resources this month and I’m afraid I won’t be able to get all of my ideas posted this year. There are SO MANY resources on my “to-make” list.

That being said, I’ve tried to really prioritize what I want to share this year, making sure I’m also adding FREEBIES to my store. Because every tired teacher needs a FREEBIE! Am I right or am I right?

So I was inspired to make my own little version of The Five Little Pumpkins poem. This poem is the familiar tale of the five little pumpkins most teachers (and students) have heard before. There are so many different ways to use it to make learning fun this month, and that’s what this post is about. I know as a teacher, we can always see the potential in a free resource, and this one definitely has a lot of it!

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Literacy Ideas for The Five Little Pumpkins Poem

  1. Letter Recognition: Give each student their own poem and a dot marker, pieces of candy corn, mini Halloween erasers, etc, and have them go on a “hunt” for the letters they are currently working on mastering. If they are ready for sound correspondence, they can also practice each letter/sound they find in the poem.
  2. Beginning/Ending Sounds: Have students search for words that begin or end with the sounds they are working on. For example, if students are learning about the /p/ sound, help them search the poem for these sounds and practice making them. For extra fun, they could also use candy, dot markers, mini erasers or any other festive tool to mark their sounds.
  3. Rhyming Words: Have students circle pairs of rhyming words in the poem. Again, use fun manipulatives for them to mark the words they find!
  4. Sight Words: Have students search the poem for the sight words they are working on. Again… fun manipulatives are a must!
  5. Fluency: Since this is a repetitive, likely familiar poem, students will love reading it over and over again while practicing fluency. Be sure to model it first, then go over any words they may have trouble with. Then have students echo read or choral read to practice with you. You can also read it in different voices like a “spooky voice” or a “pumpkin voice,” or anything that will make the repeated readings more enjoyable. If any students are confident with it after multiple reads and practice opportunities, you could let them read it and perform for the class. (*Think reader’s theater for littles.)

Math Ideas for The Five Little Pumpkins Poem

  1. Counting Up to 5: Even the littlest learners can use this poem to practice their counting skills. Give each kiddo a set of their own 5 pumpkins and have them practice counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
  2. Counting Backwards from 5: Let each student begin with 5 pumpkins (or similar manipulative as mentioned above) and take away one each time a pumpkin leaves the fence, practicing counting down until no pumpkins are left.
  3. One-to-One Correspondence: Have students practice counting plastic pumpkins, pumpkin candies, pumpkin mini erasers, or other pumpkin manipulatives to understand how each object corresponds with one more or one less.
  4. Adding/Subtracting Within 5: Give each students a 5 or 10 frame and have them start with 5 pumpkins on the frame. Have them take away one each time a pumpkin leaves the fence. If they’re developmentally ready, they can also practice writing the corresponding subtraction problem as each pumpkin leaves (5-1, 5-2, 5-3, etc). (You can also start with addition if students are not yet ready for subtraction.)
  5. Ordinal Numbers: This poem is a super easy way to introduce ordinal numbers to students and help them to begin mastering the concept of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th.

Bonus! Pair the Five Little Pumpkins Poem with a Read Aloud as an Extension Activity: After a read-aloud of the book, The Five Little Pumpkins, give students a copy of the poem to work on any specific literacy or math skills you are targeting during instruction or centers.

If any of these ideas sound like something you want to do with your learners this month, you can snag this FREEBIE by clicking on the image below or this link: Five Little Pumpkins Poem FREE

Five Little Pumpkins Poem FREE

Happy Spooky Season! I can’t wait to see how you use this poem! 🙂 Be sure to tag me on Instagram!

Be on the lookout for more HOLIDAY themed resources! Holidays and learning are my JAM! 🙂

For the month of October, you might also like:

What are your other favorite lessons and ideas for the month of October? Let me know below!

XO,

Megan